Options for Tenants

Louth County Council has always facilitated a tenant wishing to purchase their dwelling which is currently in rented stock.

There is, however, no current Tenant Purchase Scheme in place. It is planned to extend the Incremental Purchase Scheme process to existing stock at some time in the future.

The Mortgage Allowance Scheme is, however, available.

Mortgage Allowance Scheme

The allowance assists tenants and tenant purchasers of local authority dwellings and certain tenants of houses provided by voluntary housing bodies under the Rental Subsidy Scheme who wish to return their dwelling to the authority or voluntary body and purchase or build a private dwelling for their own occupation by reducing their mortgage repayments over the first five years of the mortgage.

Amount Of Allowance

For mortgages created on or after 15th June 2000, the amount of the allowance is payable over 5 years The allowance or the allowance plus income tax relief on mortgage interest cannot, in any year, exceed the amount of the loan charges due.

Who Qualifies for the Allowance ?

The allowance is payable to persons who:

are tenants or tenant purchasers of local authority dwellings or are tenants, whose

tenancies are of not less than one year’s duration, of houses provided by an approved voluntary body under the Capital Loan & Subsidy Scheme, and

return their existing dwelling to the authority or the voluntary body, as applicable, in a fit and tenantable condition (having regard to reasonable wear and tear and any repairs for which the tenant is not responsible) and free of arrears of rent or tenant purchase annuities, and

purchase or build a private dwelling for their own occupation, and

provide the private dwelling by way of a mortgage loan of not less than a fixed amount.

The spouse of a tenant or tenant purchaser, or a person who has been bona fide resident with a tenant/tenant purchaser may qualify for the allowance if she/he otherwise complies with the conditions of the scheme and the dwelling is returned to the local authority or the voluntary body, as applicable.

The allowance is not available to occupants of demountable dwellings provided by local authorities or to persons providing a dwelling under the Shared Ownership System.

Tenant purchasers to whom the allowance is given will not be compensated in respect of any annuity payments made in respect of the dwelling being returned to the local authority.

A person availing of the allowance may purchase or build a new dwelling or purchase an existing dwelling in the private sector (including dwellings formerly owned by a local authority).

How to apply for Mortgage Allowance

You need to apply in the first instance to the Council for initial assessment.The allowance is paid by the Dept. of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government directly to the lending agency from whom you are getting your mortgage.